Archives for November 2014

Part of living the Christian life is discipling others. In the Great Commission, Jesus commanded his disciples to go and “make disciples” (Matt. 28:19).

This is an intimidating mandate. When we’re still in the process of growing in our walk with Jesus (which is always), we may not feel adequate enough to walk alongside someone else and help them grow. We may be held back by questions like, “What if I can’t answer their questions?” or “What if I don’t have the insight they need?” Mobile Ed’s three-course Discipleship Training Bundle was designed to help Christians answer those questions and to disciple effectively.

In ED101 Introducing Discipleship, Dr. Greg Ogden, author of the book Discipleship Essentials, looks at the idea of discipleship in the Bible and covers how to go about the discipleship process, providing practical steps for implementing a disciple-making strategy in your church. In PC151 Theology of Everyday Life, Dr. Dan Doriani looks at what the Bible says about everyday aspects of life, which will help you answer questions about work and your “calling,” food and the body, play and rest, and more. In BI181 Introducing Bible Translations, Dr. Mark Strauss helps you understand the translation philosophies behind the different versions of the Bible. You’ll learn how each brings out different aspects of the original languages. The next time someone asks you, “Which translation should I use?” you’ll have an educated answer.

These courses will help equip you to disciple others. You’ll be better prepared to come alongside someone, answer their questions, and grow with them.

Charles Spurgeon was one of the most influential and prolific preachers of the modern era. Last year, Lexham Press released the first volume of the Spurgeon Commentary Collection, Galatians. Since then, we’ve been working hard to complete the remaining nine volumes in this series. We’re nearing completion of these volumes, and we’re proud to announce that they’ll be released by the end of the year!

You can order all nine volumes in the Spurgeon Commentary Collection for over 40% off. But hurry—you’ll only be able to take advantage of a deal this good while it’s still on Pre-Pub!

What makes this commentary different

Spurgeon’s writings on the Bible fill dozens of volumes and encompass both published books and spoken sermons. The Spurgeon Commentary Collection looks to collect his thoughts from across his corpus in an easy-to-use commentary format that is tied to the biblical text. We’ve gone back and curated excerpts from Spurgeon where he’s explicitly citing a verse and from places where he’s alluding to the text—something a simple search wouldn’t be able to do.

We’ve also enhanced the Logos editions with amazing functionality, tagging illustrations and application content with preaching themes so that they pop up when you’re using the Sermon Starter Guide. This functionality saves time if you’re preparing sermons or are trying to find content from Spurgeon on specific topics.

A glimpse at what’s coming

Our editors have wrapped up the majority of these nine volumes.

Here’s an illustration from Spurgeon Commentary: 2 Timothy to show you a glimpse of just one of Spurgeon’s nuggets of wisdom:

Good Soldiers Are Obedient (2 Tim 2:3)

Preaching Themes: Courage, Obedience

A truly good soldier of Jesus Christ knows nothing about difficulties except as things to be surmounted. If his Master bids him perform exploits too hard for him, he draws upon the resources of omnipotence, and achieves impossibilities. Wellington sent word to his troops one night, “Ciudad Rodrigo must be taken tonight.” And what do you think was the commentary of the British soldiers appointed for the attack? “Then,” they all said, “we will do it.”

So when our great Captain sends, as He does to us, the word of command, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15), if we were all good soldiers of the cross, we should say at once, “We will do it.”

Pre-order now!

Spurgeon was a truly gifted orator and author. The Spurgeon Commentary Collection is designed for functionality, usability, and readability to make Spurgeon’s writing easier than ever to understand and apply.

Bible Study Magazine’s website just got a makeover! The new BibleStudyMagazine.com is dedicated to bringing you the best in Bible study—a fresh go-to resource for tips, methods, and insights.

Gain insights from BSM articles

BibleStudyMagazine.com now features our latest stories, which will be updated with every issue. Currently we’re showcasing articles from our November/December ’14 issue.

Our cover story, “Rooted in the City of Brotherly Love,” will take you firsthand into Eric Mason’s passion for urban ministries and his decision to invest in one church community instead of planting a church and moving on. Mason realized the importance of growing relationships and investing in a church community.

Discover another story, “Soviet Soldier to Seminary President,” that tells the story of a Ukrainian soldier’s journey of faith after a chance encounter with a page of Scripture. Andrey Krastsev, who once believed in the “bright future of communism,” now trains pastors to spread the gospel across Russia. His story is part of a series that shows how people around the globe apply the Bible to their own contexts.

Discover new interactives

Bible Study Magazine has an amazing design team dedicated to helping you visually explore the stories of the Bible. Draw connections from Jeffery Kranz’s article “Out of Slavery: Exodus”. This story sheds light on the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, as well as how each of the 10 plagues showed God fighting for his people.

Last January, we announced Noet’s free mobile app, and now—after much anticipation—the desktop app is here! New Noet Research Libraries offer the world’s smartest humanities software. Each library pairs discipline-specific resources on literature, philosophy, and the classics together with smart study tools.

For a limited time, take 15% off any Noet Research Library. Choose from the Biblical Greek Research Library, Classical Studies Research Library, Ancient Philosophy Research Library, Literature Research Library, and more.

The first of its kind

Do smarter humanities study

Noet Research Libraries equip you to engage some of history’s greatest minds and better understand both where society has come from and where it’s going. From Plato to Descartes to Austen to Milton—each research library represents a trove of rich intellectual history, coupled with intelligent tools to help you make new discoveries.

With Noet Research Libraries, you can:

Take your library anywhere: Noet syncs across all your devices, so your notes, highlights, and resources go where you go. Start studying on the bus on your way home, and pick up right where you left off on your desktop computer.

Explore the text’s cultural context: Connect classic works to their historical and social context with the easy-to-use Timeline. Filter events by location, culture, geography, and more to get the information you need.

Study primary texts and translations side by side: Compare original texts and modern translations, scrolling side by side in sync. Select any word, see its Greek or Latin translation and definition, then jump to other sources that use the same word.

Connect to the original languages: Even if you don’t speak a word of Greek or Latin, you can start grasping original-language nuances with glosses of word meanings and pronunciation examples.

Take advantage of automatic citations: Noet builds your bibliography for you! Copy and paste from any Noet resource, and your sources are cited for you in the style of your choice.

Convert your research papers into Noet ebooks: Add your personal research papers, blog posts, and articles into your Noet library—making them searchable, citable, and linked to other resources.

Over the last month, many ministry leaders, authors, and speakers have given Logos 6 a spin and shared their thoughts. They’re writing blog posts, planning sermons, creating lessons, and studying the Word with the most advanced Bible study tool on the planet.

Here’s what they’re saying about Logos 6:

Equipping church leaders

Communicating in-depth biblical insight to congregations is no small task. Tools like Cultural Concepts and Interactive Media are helping pastors put difficult ideas in simple, presentable terms. With Media Search, you get quick access to related images without interrupting study and planning!

Logos 6 does an excellent job of mixing classical study resources with interactive, digital resources. Logos 6 is a must have application for ministers, teachers, students, and anyone who loves to immerse themselves in biblical studies.

As I go on using Logos, I am increasingly impressed by some of the technical tools available to me, tools that I am still discovering. These add, if not vast swathes of usefulness to my study processes, at least some real and helpful insights and nuances.

Authoring new books

For the first time ever, Logos 6 gives you access to a semantic outline that covers the entire New Testament: the Propositional Flow Outline. Hours of exegetical research have already been done for you, taking the process out of your research and study. Your writing process is made even more simple with automatic citations, ensuring that you never forget where your information came from while securing your credibility as a writer.

Logos 6 will ever be before me during my work on the Philippians volume in the Baylor Handbook on the Greek NT.

Better Bible study

Logos 6 is your central place for all things related to Bible study. Using the new Everything Search, you can quickly assemble all of your resources on a given topic in one place, with one search. Factbook is the new encyclopedia for Bible information—use it to build a general understanding of a topic or to follow links to all your related resources for specific insights.

. . . Logos 6, is an amazing compendium of data and tools that comprise an exhaustive library of Bible study resources just a mouse-click away.

After finishing Micah, I wanted to dig a little deeper on some of the themes from the book. I was able to search ‘justice,’ ‘mercy,’ and even ‘Micah’ to learn more. Logos pulled a plethora of resources from commentaries, Bible dictionaries, books on the topics, ancient texts, and even illustrated encyclopedias. I could see maps of where Micah lived and preached, a timeline that explained his place in relation to the other minor prophets, and an easy-to-understand overview of Micah.

At the forefront of academic research

Studying the ancient languages has never been easier. Logos 6’s new Ancient Literature section takes parallel passages and intertextual connections to a new level, exposing shared language and thought across relevant literature. And your scholarly journals are now more accessible with the new Journals Section—instantly connect your search queries to the latest theological discoveries and to insights from today’s leading scholars.

For personal and professional study—preparation of Sunday school lessons, for example, or of classroom lectures—Logos allows me to focus on the content rather than the process of getting it.

Bible study on the go

Logos’ mobility makes it a great tool for busy travelers. With new interactive infographics and Interlinear Explorers, not only can you study on the go, but you can prepare your message and create unique, engaging visuals for your next presentation. Capture complex concepts visually with the new Psalms Explorer and updated Timeline.

I’ve always loved reading the Bible but here’s the thing. I want to be able to do it on my computer. I want to be able to study the Bible in-depth wherever I am without lugging a pile of books along with me.

The ‘media’ search allows me to search all the media in my personal library and online. This is a wonderful tool for someone who is trying to put together a multimedia presentation on a particular topic.

Empowering the Christian community

Community is an ever-growing strength of Bible study with Logos. Faithlife Groups make it easier than ever to connect with others studying the same topics as you. Create your own groups for private Bible study, or explore what others are reading and join the conversation! The new Visual Copy tool also helps you instantly share your findings across the web.

Not only has Logos provided this help in studying God’s Word, but has blown my expectations even more with how much they provide for you to learn.

Today’s post is from Morris Proctor, certified and authorized trainer for Logos Bible Software. Morris, who has trained thousands of Logos users at his two-day Camp Logos seminars, provides many training materials.

Just like the CIA publishes The World Factbook with facts and figures about the countries of the world, Logos 6 presents the Factbook (replacing Bible Facts in Logos 5), which produces reports about biblical people, places, things, and events, as well as a host of other subjects. In addition to being opened from numerous hyperlinks throughout the program and the Context menu, the Factbook is housed and accessed from the Tools menu.

Try this:

Choose Tools | Factbook

Type a subject in the box (A), such as a:

Biblical book, like Ephesians

Biblical person, like Moses

Biblical place, like Jericho

Biblical thing, like sandal

Biblical event, like feed 5000

Biographical person, like John Wesley

Topic, like baptism

Cultural concept, like marriage

Preaching theme, like mercy

Select your desired item from the drop-down list (or press the Enter key if your item is already highlighted in the list) (B)

The various sections in a report differ depending on the subject under study, but expect to see information types like:

Media

Dictionary articles

Search results from your library

Referent dataset

Community tags

Miscellaneous links to Wikipedia and searches

For quick access to the Factbook, right click a word in a Bible and open the Factbook from the Context menu! The more you use it, the more you’ll be impressed with this goldmine of information neatly organized in a hyperlinked article for almost any subject related to biblical studies.

As you know, Faithlife built Logos Bible Software to get you into Scripture and study the Bible with smart tools and resources.

And Faithlife also built Proclaim Church Presentation Software with the same dedication to the Word. Proclaim allows thousands of churches all over the world to deliver insight with less time and frustration.

You can use Proclaim’s On-Screen Bible to show Bible verses with engaging animations that draw people into the Word. The Scripture is the most important thing to present. With On-Screen Bible, you can quickly insert an engaging animation that presents the Bible in context.

Here’s how easy it is to add an On-Screen Bible item to a presentation:

It’s simple: click “Add Item”, then “On-Screen Bible”. Type in the references you want to display, choose a translation and look of the animation, and include a book introduction if needed. Proclaim does the rest—building a beautiful animation instantly.

Proclaim comes with over $1,000.00 worth of free media, including the popular Verse of the Day series. Professional designers bring the Bible to life with these amazing works of art! Use these to highlight a passage or set the tone for your service.

The Bible Screen motions, taken from the Verse of the Day series, are another beautiful way to show Scripture. Put a group of them together to play before church to draw people into deeper study and reflection. During the offering, show verses about giving or emphasize a particular verse from the sermon. The animations have enough movement to draw your attention without taking away from what is written.

Use Proclaim Signals to easily engage your congregation using their mobile phones. With Proclaim Signals, you can send a link to a mobile device with whatever Bible verse you have on the screen. No more flipping pages back and forth—simply tap the Proclaim Signal and you’ll be taken to the correct verse. People can easily follow you wherever you’re teaching from. Signals don’t stop with Bible verses—you can send calendar invites, contact cards, donation requests, or web links making it easier than ever to connect with your congregation.

Scripture belongs on the screen. Everything we do points to Scripture, so it should take a prominent place in the presentation. Proclaim helps pastors build beautiful presentations, but it does more than that: it’s about engaging people and encouraging them to go deeper in their study of the Bible.

Some insights can’t be discovered from reading plain text—they need to be visualized for full understanding to take place. That’s why media plays such a big role in enriching your study: it allows you to both engage the Word and engage others in new, compelling ways.

Here are three ways new Media Collections can enrich your study and presentations:

1. Create compelling presentations and sermons

Engage your audience and increase their understanding with professionally designed media, ready made for your next presentation. Here are a few key collections you’ll want to take advantage of (all of this media is available in Media Search and Factbook, so it’s easy to find!):

Faithlife Study Bible Infographics

Get into the biblical world with detailed, yet easily digestible infographics. Explore hundreds of ancient buildings and places, like the Tower of Babel, Ancient Jericho, Noah’s Ark, Herod’s Temple, and Rome in Paul’s day.

Logos 6 Media Archive

Logos 6 Media brings the Bible to life. This collection includes stunning Verse of the Day art created by professional designers, perfectly formatted presentation templates, 3-D flyovers of biblical places, fine art representing significant Bible characters and events, flyovers of Jerusalem’s reconstruction, and much more.

Lexham Bible Background Slides

For every book in the Bible, access a collection of slides that explore that book’s theme, authorship, and context and offer easily digestible maps, timelines, and content outlines. By just skimming the content, you’ll get a basic understanding of every book of the Bible.

2. Experience the biblical world in your personal study

Get a closeup look at the biblical world with photos of biblical places and artifacts, and take advantage of quick information on every book in the Bible. Here are some key collections you’ll want to explore in your personal study:

Artifacts from the British Museum

Explore the craftsmanship and artistry of biblical times, with these closeup shots of some of the biblical era’s key artifacts. Check out ancient tablets, obelisks, and manuscripts from ancient places like Greece, Egypt, and Asia Minor, and see how this era’s artistry evolved over time.

Beitzel Photo Library

View over 15,000 beautiful photos of the locations and sites surrounding the Holy Land, explore a variety of closeup flyby views of sites that would otherwise be incredibly difficult to obtain, and see stunning aerial shots that will give you a greater appreciation for the size and scope of structures across the Holy Land. Photos are tagged by location for easy searching.

The Cultural Context of the Bible

View seminary-level presentations from home. This new collection includes presentations from distinguished professor and New Testament scholar Dr. David deSilva. Dig into places like Sardis, Athens, Colassae, and Hierapolis, and explore artifacts from Caesar Augustus’ reign, the Flavian Dynasty, and more.

3. Engage others with shareable media

One of the best aspects of new Media Collections is how easy they are to share! Select an image or text, and in seconds, the new Visual Copy tool transforms it into a presentation-ready slide. Here’s how it works:

The Bible is the foundational text for all Christians. We read it, study it, and hear sermons on it, but many Christians don’t think about how we got it. We take for granted the 66 books—39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New—that make up our Bibles.

How did these individual books, written in three different languages to a variety of different audiences across several centuries, come together to form our Bible? And since we don’t have the Bible’s original manuscripts, how do we know the text of these books was transmitted accurately? Logos Mobile Education’s four-course Text of the Bible Bundle provides answers to these questions and more.

How we got the Old and New Testaments

In OT281 How We Got the Old Testament and NT281 How We Got the New Testament, Dr. Michael Heiser looks at the process by which we obtained the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament. He explains how writing developed in the ancient world and looks at how texts were composed and transmitted. He examines different textual traditions and demonstrates how to analyze variants of the different Greek or Hebrew manuscripts—a discipline known as textual criticism. Dr. Heiser also discusses the inspiration of the biblical text and the process of canonization. These two courses provide a thorough, yet easy-to-understand explanation of how the ancient manuscripts that preceded our Bible were created and passed down through history.

Watch these samples from Dr. Heiser’s courses in which he discusses evaluating variants in the Old Testament and gives examples of textual phenomena in the New Testament:

The reliability of New Testament manuscripts

In NT308 The Reliability of New Testament Manuscripts, Dr. Craig Evans answers the question: Can we trust the manuscript record of the New Testament? He looks at the quality, quantity, and age of different New Testament manuscripts and compares them with those of other ancient texts. He concludes, based on the textual evidence, that the New Testament manuscripts accurately reflect the originals.

In this video, Dr. Evans demonstrates the quality of New Testament manuscripts:

Introducing Bible translations

Of course, when most of us read the Bible, we don’t read it in Hebrew and Greek. In BI181 Introducing Bible Translations, Dr. Mark Strauss explains different translation philosophies behind the major English versions of the Bible. He describes the difficult nature of language, using examples from modern languages to illustrate how challenging it is to translate things like idioms and metaphors from one language to another.

In this clip, Dr. Strauss shows how words have a range of meanings:

These four courses will give you a better appreciation of the text of your Bible. You’ll come to understand the important and complicated process of transmitting ancient manuscripts and translating them into English.

The most advanced Bible dictionary in existence just got bigger and better.

We’ve worked tirelessly to expand the Lexham Bible Dictionary to its current size—over 5,000 total articles and over 2.7 million words—and we’re still not finished. One of the amazing things about a digital Bible dictionary is the lack of a back cover. We’re able to quickly and easily add content to continue to expand the scope of the dictionary and to make sure it never goes out of date.

By early 2015, we’re planning on adding an additional 2,000 articles and another 1 million words, increasing the totals to over 7,000 articles and 3.7 million words. That’s an incredible amount of content!

Quality over quantity

The Lexham Bible Dictionary would not exist without the amazing contributions of over 800 scholars from around the world. These are some of the best and brightest biblical scholars working on articles that fall directly in their area of expertise. Here’s just a glimpse at some of the scholars who have worked on the dictionary:

Leonard Greenspoon, PhD, professor of classical and Near Eastern studies and of theology, Klutznick Chair in Jewish Civilization, Creighton University, and editor of The FORUM (Society of Biblical Literature)

All of the Lexham Bible Dictionary‘s content is at your fingertips in Logos Bible Software and the Logos suite of mobile apps. Each article is organized so that you get the most relevant information first and can dig deeper into the topic as you continue reading. This makes it a great tool for Bible studies, Sunday school classes, small groups, and individual study.

Even better with Logos 6

Since we designed the Lexham Bible Dictionary to be a digital resource, the value of each article is exponentially increased with hand-curated links to other articles, resources, books, and datasets. It integrates seamlessly with your Logos library to help you make connections between related topics.